Trilogy Partners, a Frisco-based construction and design firm, has been selected from the more than 35 million SketchUp users to present its designs and build process at the international SketchUp 3D Basecamp convention in Palm Springs, California.

According to the company, Trilogy Partners will offer three separate presentations at the event, each featuring the company’s virtual design and build process. Owned by Trimble, SketchUp is a specialty software platform utilized by professionals and hobbyists to visualize and design the world in 3D, and Trilogy Partners has been using the software.

“I fell in love with SketchUp and 3D architectural design in 2012,” said Michael Rath, Trilogy Partners CEO and owner. “In just six amazing years we have leveraged their software product with our design and build experience into a package that will influence how our homes, and quite possibly all homes, are designed and built for the foreseeable future. We empower our clients to design their homes or commercial spaces in a 3D and Virtual Reality platform, so they can truly experience their space before construction.”

Rath will present the company’s virtual-design workflow with Hewlett Packard’s HP Z workstation team while Erin Pfarr, the company’s business development director, will present on how to facilitate SketchUp to optimize business. Rath and the design team will also present on how they have advanced the program beyond what even SketchUp’s engineers knew what was possible during “Extreme SketchUp.”

For more about the company, go to TrilogyBuilds.com to learn or find Trilogy Partners on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Article posted on Summit Daily

Going green doesn’t have to cost more. Experts at the NAHB Research Center have identified design and construction tactics that builders have used to minimize the cost premium for green.

Constructing a green home does come with some added costs, but a lot of builders find that green practices can actually reduce their construction costs and enhance the quality of the homes they build. Many green practices also result in operational and maintenance savings for homeowners.

Using a combination of input from builders participating in the National Green Building Certification Program and results from recent research we did for HUD on the costs and benefits of green affordable housing, the NAHB Research Center has identified seven beneficial practices to consider when building green for the affordable market.

1. Work closely with your suppliers

If you’re new to green building in general or to building green homes with a lower price point, you may want to start your journey by talking with your product suppliers.

Richmond, Va.-based First Richmond Associates has been building quality workforce housing for nearly two decades. Recently, the builder decided that going green with its homes would provide even greater value to customers and set its product apart from the competition. Susan Hadder, president of First Richmond, admits the company didn’t know much about green building, so she let her suppliers know about the new direction they were taking and asked for their help.

“A lot of them were as new to green as we were,” says Hadder, “but they were excited to help us find the best product options available from various manufacturers. It was kind of fun for everyone to discover something new.”

Hadder says she got very quick responses from all her product reps, along with some incentives, which helped her identify what the company needed to get its new green homes certified to the National Green Building Standard (ICC 700). She was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the green product options that would garner points for the home in the certification process were actually an even swap for her in terms of price.

Specifically with flooring options, she found that recycled-content carpet and padding, engineered hardwood flooring, and recycled tile for the bathrooms were all competitively priced with the products she traditionally used — some a few pennies more per unit, some a few pennies less. First Richmond now has two of their Earth-Friendly workforce homes (sales prices range from the $170,000’s to low $200,000’s) Green Certified to ICC 700 by the NAHB Research Center, and the company has plans for more.

2. Look for two-for-one green product benefits

To maximize green benefits while keeping construction costs low, use products or practices with multiple green features. For example, when specifying cabinets or cabinet materials, look for those that have low- or no-formaldehyde content and are made of recycled material. That way, you may be able to gain green certification points for both indoor environmental quality and resource efficiency. While most green rating systems won’t allow for “double dipping” on points (i.e., claiming points in more than one area for the same green attribute in the same product or practice), most will allow for multiple green attributes in the same product to be counted across multiple point categories.

3. Don’t forget about water efficiency

In our work with HUD, we found that water efficiency improvements for both new and renovated affordable projects are commonly overlooked even though they offer a quantifiable benefit to homeowners for little to no additional construction cost. Be sure not to discount the cost benefits for affordable clients of low-flow faucets, toilets, and showerheads, as well as rated water-saving appliances.

As for finding the products at an affordable price, there is a much wider array of low-flow toilets, faucets, and showerheads on the market today than even five years ago, and the most basic models are cost neutral with comparable non-low-flow fixtures. Most major plumbing product manufacturers now offer these products, eliminating the need for costly special orders, in most cases. With bathroom sink faucets, even if your manufacturer of choice doesn’t make a low-flow version, you can buy replacement aerators that satisfy the requirements of most national green rating systems for around $2 a piece.

New construction on the Goose Pasture Tarn in Blue River, Colorado outside of Breckenridge.

 

4. Consider alternative framing techniques

Some changes in your framing materials or techniques might provide both cost/time savings and a means to an end in securing points toward green certification. For instance, consider using panels or trusses in lieu of site-built systems. These techniques are labor and resource efficient, resulting in less on-site waste and possibly lower labor and materials cost overall. Fabricated systems often create greater thermal efficiency over stick frames. Many green rating systems, including the National Green Building Standard, also award points for use of panels and trusses.

If you want to continue framing totally on site, there are several optimum value engineering (OVE) techniques that can save on material or labor costs, and can generate green points at the same time. Look into options like:

• Ladder blocking — uses less wood; provides more room for insulation; gets green points
• Two-stud corners — at least one less stud at each corner; allows for more fully insulated corner; gets green points
• Switch from 2x4s at 16 inches on center to 2x6s at 24 inches on center — may result in small increase in incremental cost initially, but gets a lot of green bang for your buck.

5. Explore low-cost strategies with design

Green, at any price point, is not accomplished through product selection alone. Many of the other “ingredients” for a green home involve strategies that can cost very little or nothing at all. For example, depending on the orientation and size of your lot, flipping a house plan is a very low-cost, low-effort activity that can result in green benefits like positioning the majority of windows on the south side of a home for passive solar and natural lighting gains.

6. Pay attention to placement and sizing of hvac and plumbing systems

Optimize your duct runs and centrally locate your mechanical room for material cost savings and increased energy efficiency. Even for smaller homes, be sure not to have more ducts or longer duct runs than you need in any part of the house. Using a central return also reduces material costs and is a simple system that can provide adequate circulation and cost savings to both you and your buyers.

Placing all your HVAC equipment, including ducts, in conditioned space within the home is also beneficial. In addition to creating significant energy savings for homeowners, this practice may also allow you to spec smaller, less-expensive HVAC equipment and limit or eliminate the need for additional insulation for the duct system. Many homes today, even those that may be otherwise energy and resource efficient, have oversized HVAC equipment. As the building envelope of your homes becomes tighter and more energy efficient, the HVAC burden is significantly reduced. A smaller system obviously costs less and could offset other green upgrades you’re making in your homes.

For your plumbing system, make sure you have chosen the most efficient design for your purposes. For multi-story homes, consider a stacked system, which will probably require shorter plumbing runs, less piping, and possibly less labor time from your plumbing contractor. Also consider centrally locating your water heater, as a central location makes the average of every run shorter, thereby reducing material costs.

7. Rely on green design professionals

Green homes often require a higher degree of precision in their design and construction to ensure that the finished product works the way it was designed to work, as a whole house relying on interdependent systems for its optimum efficiency and homeowner comfort. Having experts well versed in green products, practices, and protocols can save you thousands of dollars in trial-and-error and callbacks in the long run.

That being said, there are different ways to go about creating your design team. One way is to seek out experts in areas such as mechanical systems, plumbing design, and landscape architecture, with specific expertise in green building practices. Another tactic is to rally those with whom you already work to the pursuit of greener, more efficient homes. Similar to the enthusiasm and excitement Susan Hadder generated with her suppliers when First Richmond began seeking green solutions, you may generate the same kind of interest with your existing construction partners to learn all they can and contribute. Either way, it’s important to get everyone in your construction chain on the same page with what you’re trying to accomplish. Contractors and suppliers that are not informed can create inadvertent barriers to your ultimate success.

More information and technical detail about these techniques can be found on the Research Center’s technical website,www.ToolBase.org.

Created in 1964, the NAHB Research Center (www.nahbrc.com) is a full-service product commercialization company that strives to make housing more durable, affordable, and efficient. The Research Center provides public and private clients with an unrivaled depth of understanding of the housing industry and access to its business leaders.

Source : Professional Builder

Extreme remodel on the Goose Pasture Tarn in Blue River, Colorado

Silverthorne Colorado home

Green has been a buzzword in design for at least 25 years (I am going off of my Earth Day 1992 tote bag that was just unearthed from my parents home). What are some creative ways that you can use renewable materials in your home design?

Smart light bulbs, eco-mattresses, and a Tesla Powerwall that can run a 2 bedroom home on solar are some of the more obvious products available in the sustainable design market. For something less expected, you can also purchase a mushroom mycelium lamp that is painted with non-toxic paint that is grown instead of manufactured. Another unusual selection is

MushLume Trumpet Pendant (Photo credit: Nix + Gerber Studio)

When designing your new construction or remodel, here are some easy choices to make your home a little more green and a little more sustainable with items that you already need:

Trex Decking: made from 95% recycled wood and plastic. This company also employs practices right in their manufacturing facility like eliminating the use of harmful chemicals and reclaiming factory waste.

Milk Paint: “green paint” refers to any paint that is an alternative to petroleum based paints. Milk Paint contains no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) or additives that can be harmful to the environment. So you can breathe easy knowing that your walls, cabinets or outdoor spaces are working with you and the Earth.

Bio-glass backspash: recycled glass takes just 30% of the energy that would be required to produce it from raw materials. And there are stunning options to choose from!

LEED Certified Windows: these ensure energy efficiency is not compromised when embracing the views from your house.

Virtual Reality and 3D modeling: architect Michelle Kaufman has said “The most green material you can use is one that you never use.” With employing 3D modeling that allows you to go inside of your remodel or new construction, space planning is at a premium and every inch is accounted for. You can experience your home through VR and feel the space rather than just trusting or guessing what it the finished product will be like. Find a design team that will allow you to go inside your house and see your design selections well before purchasing or installation.

For more information on defining renewable vs nonrenewable materials, check out Karen S. Garvin’s article via LIVESTRONG.

Have you incorporated any green design selections in your house?

Did you know that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency claims about 40 to 50 percent of wood from demolished buildings can be reused in new construction? While in the past there were limited ways to recycle wood in the United States, it’s becoming a more common practice because there are so many ways recycled wood can be used by builders.

One of our favorite reclaimed timber projects was Trey Parker’s Steamboat Springs home. In his home, we used timbers that had been salvaged from a railroad bridge that had at one time covered a part of the Great Salt Lake, much to the delight of local wildlife who thought the salted timbers were dessert. Using reclaimed timber was a great choice to create the look that was desired for this home, as well as a way to continue in our efforts of creating an environmentally friendly home.

Reclaimed timber beams are also a great choice because aged wood is seasoned, which means it is more stable than newly cut wood. Along with using reclaimed timber beams, wood that has is historic, recycled, or reclaimed can also be used for flooring and walls in new construction. Recycled wood can also be useful as garden or yard art, or to create new furniture. Using reclaimed and recycled wood doesn’t have to stop at the framing of a home.

Here at Trilogy Partners, we strive to be as environmentally responsible as possible in our building practices. Using reclaimed timber and recycled wood is just one way we achieve that goal.

Reclaimed Timber Frame house

Written by John-David Hutchison

An environmentally friendly building product should cover three essential elements to make it green:

Where does it come from? – Is it a readily renewable resource? Is it local?

Does it have a high percentage of recycled content? How is it made? – What are the ingredients in the manufacturing process?

Is there fair trade involved? How much energy does it take to produce? How does it affect the environment after it is used? – Does the material off gas? What is its care and life span? Is it recyclable at the end of its initial use?

Caleb’s Journey Reclaimed Oak Floor

I live in Chelsea, which is built on a sea of clay. If I were to dig up the clay from my back yard, install it as a floor and polish it with beeswax from my friends at Berg en Dal Honey in Wakefield, I would probably qualify in having the greenest floor. Leaving aside such pure and perfect ambitions, let’s consider more realistic possibilities for the average consumer choices:

Bamboo

Often thought of (and definitely marketed as) the greenest floor on the market, bamboo has probably the longest list of pros and cons. In order for bamboo to meet high environmental standards there are a number of hurdles to consider/overcome.

Bamboo grows incredibly fast, takes very little energy to cultivate, and makes for a very hard floor, around 14-17% harder than maple. If produced and harvested properly the farming of bamboo has a very low environmental impact. To achieve this, the bamboo must be harvested no earlier than every 7 years and cut 6 to 12 inches from the ground, so that the plant can grow back without replanting. The problems are that wild bamboo is used and a lot of the farmed bamboo is harvested at three years, making for a lower quality product.

The manufacturing process also needs to be evaluated. The raw bamboo is stripped, steamed, baked, and dried. It is then compressed using glues and is usually prefinished. Ideally the glues and finishes used are non-toxic with a low VOC content and manufactured in an ISO certified facility. Unfortunately, too often this is not the case; very few of these glues and finishes have a low VOC content and most of the work is done in ramshackle factories with no concern for the health and safety of workers. I have seen pictures of buildings in the deep forests where the workers are wearing nothing but shorts and making their own glues in a large toxic vat over a fire. (This is the $.99/sq. ft bamboo sold at Uncle Joe’s Flooring emporium.)

Bamboo floors take a lot of energy to manufacture and, as it all comes from China, a considerable amount of embedded energy to transport.

Wood

Ah wood, the classic and still most popular choice. Some say you can’t do much better than a locally produced farmed wood product in a solid format (low energy) with a natural oil and wax finish. In Ontario and Quebec you can now find FSC certified solid maple flooring at a fairly reasonable cost.

The opposite end of the spectrum is imported clear-cut Merbau covered in a heavy coating of toxic off gassing Varathane. The devastation of the Merbau forests prompted Greenpeace to produce a hefty volume dedicated to documenting the destruction of the forests. The scary fact is there are many species of endangered trees readily available at your local flooring store.

Engineered wood flooring is manufactured by bonding a veneer of solid wood on top of two to three layers of other, less valuable products. In the greenest examples these secondary layers are made of recycled or waste materials. This manufacturing method results in a more efficient use of the best / most valued wood, stretching out the resource use while still satisfying the consumer need for an abundant variety of options.

Reclaimed wood – On the outset this seems to be the ultimate in environmental choice. There are two main types of reclaimed wood:

1. Flooring made from wood reclaimed from barns or old farmhouses, planed down and reinstalled for your walking pleasure. Unfortunately, due to the intense labour involved in reclaiming the wood, and the limited supply of the product, it is an expensive option. Reclaimed wood also generally needs to be finished onsite, which is a general pitfall for most consumers.
2. River Run Reclaimed flooring is manufactured from logs dredged from the bottom of rivers. It’s a great concept to create quality flooring and it is generally less expensive than reclaimed barn board. The argument against this practice is that no one is quite sure of the long-term impact of pulling up the silt and possible toxins from rivers such as the Ottawa and the Fraser. Impact studies will take some time to finish to before we can really know the environmental consequences.

Cork

I’ll be honest; I have a personal preference for cork. It is warm, soft, and beautiful. The tree is harvested every seven years by shaving the bark from the trunk, not by cutting the whole tree down. Cork flooring is made from the scraps of the manufacturing of wine corks. (In turn, pin boards and gaskets are made from the scraps of making the floors.) Cork trees are highly prized and protected in Spain and Portugal. But as with Bamboo, on the flip side cork flooring is an engineered product from abroad. What’s worse, currently a large portion of cork is shipped to China for manufacturing and then hauled back to Europe and North America for sale. On top of the embedded energy debate, one needs to make sure that the cork is manufactured using low VOC glues and finishes.

Carpet

Carpet is not very fashionable at this time, being looked down upon as a cheap, short-term product that over time will provide a breeding ground for mold and bacteria as the toxic chemical protection wears off. But there is a bright green future in carpet, especially in commercial applications. Up and coming companies are using recycled and recyclable content. (If you haven’t seen “The Corporation”, Interface Carpet’s Ray Anderson is a truly inspirational businessman-come-environmentalist.) Kraus is manufacturing such a product in Ontario.

There are also similar pros and cons for Linoleum, ceramic tile, and cement, but I am running out of room.

In the end, making a decision on the most environmentally friendly floor will involve a lot of tomato, tomato, potato, potato; it can come down to personal priorities. Regardless of your choice there are always trade offs.

If you are really stuck…. I have an acre of clay, send me an e-mail.

About the Author
John-David is currently working as a Sustainability Consultant with CSV Architects in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, specializing in the coordination of the process and submission for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Certification by The Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). He also makes the best veggie burger in the Outaouais. hutchison@csv.ca

Source: GreenbuildingPro

If you’ve decided to build a new home, then one of the things you should consider is the environment around you. To reduce your environmental footprint, think about incorporating some green building ideas, such as active daylighting, into your home design.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Active daylighting occurs when a mechanical device collects sunlight in order to increase the efficiency of your home’s light collection. Active daylighting systems are different than passive daylighting systems in that they actively track the sun’s light instead of remaining stationary.

There are two types of active daylighting systems: closed loop and open loop. Closed loop systems use sensors that are directed at the sun. The sensors will pick up on when the sun begins to move whenever they are hit by shade, thereby allowing them to track with the sun. Open looped systems use sensors, but not to track the sun’s movement. Instead, the use a motorized system that is pre-programmed to follow the sun’s path.

Make your home more efficient by implementing an active daylighting system, whether it’s a closed loop system or an open loop system. Find out how you can implement green building techniques into your home design by contacting Trilogy Partners today.

Here are some tips for anyone who’s interested in going green. Source: morgueFile

You’ve probably heard about the phrase “going green” on more than a few occasions. While the concept is noble – going green refers to reducing your environmental footprint – the phrase itself has become something of a buzzword. The following are a few tips about going green that you should be aware of:

• Do your research – Don’t just buy into a product or service because they advertise it as being “green.” This word can be very misleading. For example, one product may be more eco-friendly than another, but that doesn’t make it eco-friendly in itself.
• Think about the future – In addition to how green the product or service is in the present, consider its future. Can it be reused or recycled? How long will it last? These are factors of being green as well.
• Is it local? – Materials that aren’t locally produced aren’t going to be very green because of what’s required to transport them to you. Look for products that use local materials to cut down on fuel use.

These are a few things to keep in mind when going green. For more tips about going green, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Partners today.

Some tips for creating a green home include installing awnings and insulation, and using high quality materials that will last longer. Source: Houzz

Striving to create a greener home environment is a great way to reduce not only your environmental footprint but to also reduce your monthly utility costs, thereby helping you save a lot of money in the long run. The following are a few tips for creating a green home environment:

• Install awnings – Strategically placed awnings can help you reduce the amount of energy you need to use. For example, during the summer awnings will help block out the sun’s heat, while in the winter the sunlight will hit your home at a steeper angle, which means low-angled light will be let in to heat your home.
• Add insulation – If you’ve added energy efficient windows, then the last thing you want is for heat to escape around the sides. Use fill-in foam insulation to help reduce the amount of heat that will escape around your windows.
• Use high quality materials – Not only should you use reclaimed materials, you should use materials that last so that you don’t have to waste money and materials replacing them.

These are just a few tips for creating a green home environment. Contact us at Trilogy Partners for more green home design advice.

Eco-friendly bathroom can be constructed from a variety of recycled materials, including rubber, copper, and aluminum. Source: Houzz

Are you trying to build a bathroom that’s a bit more environmentally friendly? If so, then don’t ignore what your sinks are made out of. The following are a few examples of eco-friendly bathroom sinks that you can use as inspiration:

• Salvaged bowls – Re-use any type of bowl. All you need is a bowl in which a hole can be drilled on the bottom to connect it to a drain. For example, an old cast-metal basin.
• Recycled rubber – For a truly unique option, use a sink that has been built out of recycled rubber tires that were melted and purified before being turned into a sheet that can be stretched across a basic frame.
• Recycled copper – Copper is a great choice for a bathroom sink due to its antibacterial and antifungal qualities. Just make sure to pick a sink made out of recycled copper.
• Recycled aluminum – If you’re going for a modern bathroom design, then recycled aluminum is a fantastic option. Not to mention that there is plenty of aluminum available to be recycled into a sink.

These are a few eco-friendly bathroom sinks. Contact us at Trilogy Partners for more green building information.

Concrete, pebble tile, and linoleum are three eco-friendly bathroom floor materials that we recommend for your home. Source: Houzz

Deciding on what type of flooring to use for your bathroom is no easy task. Not only do you want to make sure it is suitable for the bathroom environment, you’ll also want to ensure that it’s aesthetically pleasing as well as environmentally friendly. The following are a few eco-friendly bathroom floors we recommend:

• Concrete – You can add recycled aggregates to a concrete floor, including porcelain, coal fly ash or glass.  Concrete is also a strong material that holds up well in wet environments and is very flexible in terms of visual design.
• Pebble tile – Give your bathroom a spa-like vibe by using pebble tiles that will gently massage your feet when you walk across them. Instead of using stone, use a recycled glass version.
• Linoleum – Linoleum is naturally antimicrobial, which means it will resist both mold and mildew, perfect for the bathroom space. It’s also water-resistant and durable. Just make sure to get linoleum that’s labeled no-VOC.

We highly recommend that you consider one of these options when looking for eco-friendly bathroom floors. For more information about implementing environmentally friendly features into your home design, make sure that you contact us at Trilogy Builds today.